Can washing and drying machine



March 17, 1925.

F. EBERHART CAN WASHING AND DRYING MACHINE Filed June 29 Patented Mar.17, 1925.

, UNITED .XSTHA} t -Es: PATEN ]o FIcE FELIX EBERHART, or NEWARK, NEWJERSEY, AssIGnjon. 'ro nilrnn jon v can. oolvr- PANY, or vnw YORK, n;Y.,- a oonrontarron or new JERSEY.

can WASHINGAND DRYING MACHINE, j

Application filed June 29, 1921.- Serial Nb. 481,225.

To all whom it may concern:

'Be it known that I, FELIX EBERHART, a citizen of the United States,residing in Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey,haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Can Washing and Dry ingMachines, of which the following is a specification. I a I My inventionrelates in general to means for cleansing filled cans andlikearticles,-and has more particular reference to a machine in whichthecans are both washed and by a positive wiping action. a

It has been found that in the packing of certain types of products, suchas syrup, the exterior of the containers becomes sticky and soiled andthat the mere application of Water thereto is not sufficient to properlycleanse the same. A It is a principal object of my invention to-providemeans for positively wiping the containers during the time that washingwater is applied thereto.

It has also been a common experience, particularly in the case ofpacking lithographed or decorated cans, to have the sur-' faces thereofmarred ,or watermarked when the cans are dried by air alone. It is -a"further object of this invention to provide means for obviating thisdifliculty by positively wiping the washed cans immediately upontheirbeing passed from the washing part ofthe machine. 7

Still another objectjof the invention is the provision'in a machine ofthis character of means for blowing hot air upon the" drying device andthe washed cans as said cans are movedby a conveyor through the dryingportion of the machine.

i A still further object of the invention is the provision of associatedwashing and drying machines in which the water is pumped to the washingstations and hot air is blown uponthe cans and drying devices throughthe instrumentality of; common power means.

1Another'object of the int-amen is, the provision in machine'of thischaracter of means whereby said power devices, also drive thedrierconveyor.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent'asit is better understood from the following description, which,taken-in. connection with dried the accompanying drawings, discloses fapr'e ferred embodiment thereof. I [Referring to the drawings; a

The figure-is a side elevation of a combined washing and drying machin'eembodyingthe principles of invention.

- It Will benoted that the embodiment of the invention shown by way .ofillustration in the drawing, 'comprlses primarily a Was hf ng machine,lndlcated generally by the 'ref erence character 11, and a drying'machin'e,

similarly indicated. by the reference character 12. The structureis',supportedfby'u'prights 13' and 14 at opposite ends ,ofth'e f machine,and by ,a central supporting nember 15, which also serves generally toiconn 'ect thetwo parts of the machine. Theup rights and supportingmember areconnectedtogether by means of a base 16, and upon one sectionof this base is a tank 17 having one section 18 for containing cleanwater,

and;another section 19 adapted to receive the waste water after thewashing operation.

An inlet pipe 21'extends from a'source -of supply into the clean-watertank, and a pipe.

22leads from'a suction head 23 within said tank to a pump 24. Anoverfiow-pip'e' 25' is positioned within this tank and adapted Y to serve as anoutlet when the water exceeds a'certam depth. Bymeans, of the pump 24Lthelwa'teris forced through connecting pipes i 26 and 27to a spray pipe28. Branch pipes and .30 a are provided with shut-off valves "{10. i

The filled cans 29 are placed any suitable. or desirable manner upon aninclined track '31 having guides 32, between which the cans roll bygravity. Near the receiving end of the machine and positioned above thetrack 31 are two sprays 33 adapted to thorj oughly moisten the cans tobe. washed. These sprays are upon the pipe 28, which has fur- 4 ther"along, other sprays 34 -by means of which fresh streams of water arecast upon the cansatdifierent points v1n their course of; travel."Aboveand bene'ath the pipe 28 are bars'35 and 36: having at intervalsther-es in. pins or rods 37 and38-respectively,"'and suspended fromtherods 37 are wipers 39 consisting of folded flannel rags or othersuitable material." Flexible brushes could also besubstituted for theWipers in' c'ases where a stiffer wiperwas desiredQ-It will be notedthat these wipers are deposited above and against the pins or rods 38and that they are positioned in proximity to the sprays in such" mannerthat they will be" con stantly kept moist thereby.

As the cans advance upon the track 31 the sprays play upon them andupon'tli'e wipers- ,which absorbsuflicient water to becoinequite heavy.As the cans come in contact with the pass beneath the wipers they arethor oughly washed by a positive wiping actionand, so cleaned, aredelivered from thelower end of the track- 31 to adrier con veyor 41.

The waste water is directed by means of guides 42, 43, and 44, into thetanks 18' and 19, that which first strikes the cams" and carries thegreateripart' of the dirt there- I from being directed into the wastetank 19,

it" being understood that it be cleaned and utilized ani'n'definite'number of times. An outlet 46 from the waste tank is pro;-vided so that the water may be drawn off when desired.

suspended from the bar 53, as in the other section of the macliine. Asthe cans are moved upwardly they engage and. are wiped by-thesewipersandthereby thoroughly and evenly dried. The contact with the wipers willturnor. roll the cans, thereby wiping all portions thereoff A hot airblower 56 is suitably secured above the wiper bars and serves to blowhot air upon the wipers and the cans whereby they are quickly andcompletely dried.

A -motor 57 servestodrive a shaft 58 carrying a pulley 59 and operatingthe pump 24: and the conveyor 41 by means of belt connections 61 and 62.Air isfanned through the pipe 63 to the blower 56:

It will be understood that this machineis adapted to receive the cansimmediately after their leaving. a closingmachine, where the soilingusually takesplace, and that the cans may be discharged from the drying;apparatus' onto discharge conveyor 64 which is driven by a belt" 65andmay be arranged to lead. to any desired point.-

It isthouglitthat the invention-and many of its attendant advantageswill be understood from the foregoing. description, and

it willbe apparent that various-changes may be made in the form,construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from thespirit and scope: of the invention or sacrificing all ofitsmateriahadvantages, the form hereinbefore described being merelyapreferred embodiment thereof.

I claim"? a p Y 1''; A machine for cleansing'cans and the like,comprising a track upon which the cans in'a'y'm'ove, means formoistening the can bodies as. they enter upon said track,

and loosely hanging moistened devices for conforming with the shapes ofand wiping said bodies as they move along their path of travel. 4 v v 2.A machine for cleansing cans and the like, comprising an inclined tr ckupon'r I.

whichv the cans may roll, means for sprayingwat er upon the moving-Zcans an'd pl'rt rality of moistened cloth devices" arranged aloiig saidtrackv for wiping said can bodies.

r 3. In a. machine forfwasliing, cans, the

combination of means forrolling the cans along a prescribed patli, softabsorbent wipers hanging in the path of thesaid cans, and spraying:devices for spraying the travelin'g cans and also supplying water to andrendering heavy said. absorbent wipers.

4 A machine. for cleansing cans and the like, comprising: means foradvancing, the cans by gravity, a plurality of' sprays. arrangedsuccessively for moisteningthe can bodies,. and:a plurality of soft andabsorbs ent wipers; associated with each of said sprays and moistenedthereby for wiping said advancing bodies.

5 machine for clean-sing cans and the like, comprising. soft andabsorbent wipers arranged to hang against and conform with the cansurfaces for washing: the: can bodies, means: associated therewith forreceiving and v advancing thewash'edrcans, and fibrous drying means:arranged beyond thesphere of the washing means and extending into thepathw of said advancing. washed bodies andv adapted to wipe the moisturetherefrom.

6'. A machine for cleansing. cans and the like, comprisingmeans forwashing the can bodies, means associated therewith. for receiving, andadvancing the washed cans, and x drying. means arranged. along. thecourse. of 1 travel. of said washed cans for. wiping the moisturetherefrom, said drying meansm I eluding wipers and-means for blowing.hot air thereon and upon saidcans.-

7. A machine for cleansing cans andthe likeycomprising; means forrolilingthe cans, devices for moistening the bodieshof said cans and forwipingthe surfacesthereof, said devices comprising. a plurality ofsprays and flexible cloth wipers; associated therewith and moistenedthereby -in combinationwith means for advancing and-drying the. washedcans-i i to receive and advance the washed cansand having means fordrying said cans by a positive Wiping action. a

, 9. A can washing and drying machine, comprising in combination awashing ,de-

vice having means for advancing the cans,"

means for casting washing water thereon, and means 'for'positivelywiping the moistened cans, and a drying device adapted to receive andadvance the Washed cans and having means for drylng said cans by a meansfor pumping saidwater to the said carrier, spraying devices extendingfrom said carrier and adapted to cast the water upon the advancing cans,Wiping means moistened by, said sprays and adapted to contact with saidmoving cans, means. for receiving and advancing the washed cans,

and drying meansassociated therewith and including means forcontactingwvith and wiping the moisture from said, advancing Iwashedcans.

'11. A can washing and drying machine, having in combination a decliningcan track, a tank beneath the same, {means "for applying. water on' thecans as they pass; 40

along said track, means for wiping the cans asv they are Wetted, anupwardly inc-lined track receiving the washed cans from said decliningtrack, means for propelling the cans'on said upwardlyinclined track,dry-; ing wipers against which the cans are so propelled, and meansforiblowing'air onthe cans being dried. c

FELIX EBERHART. 1

